A Visit to Felony Franks

This is Felony Franks, a hot dog stand at the corner of S. Western Ave. and W. Jackson Blvd. on the West Side of Chicago, just before sunset last Friday. I went there to talk with the owner for an article I completed about the place over the weekend, and to try the food. Of course, I wasn't the first writer to cover the story. Open up a hot dog stand with a prison theme and hire ex-cons to run the place and you're going to get some attention, it seems.

Felony Franks' mascot, painted on the door and one of the walls not visible this image, is a cartoon hot dog in prison stripes and fastened to a ball and chain. I didn't get a good picture of him, but he's fairly prominent on the web site.

Note that there's no sign hanging in front of Felony Franks. The Chicago alderman in whose district the place operates does not like the name or the prison theme one little bit, and has denied permission for a sign. Something about a cartoon hot dog glorifying the criminal lifestyle. He may be on to something, considering how often cartoon hot dogs appear in gangsta rap videos.